When the sound of firecrackers gradually stopped, the little guys who couldn't bear it went back to their houses to sleep with regret. The performance on the stage was still the same. The people who came to watch the performance were enjoying it against the cold.
The servants of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family went to sleep and busy themselves. The adults set up the table and started to play mahjong. Since Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan proposed this kind of entertainment to their families, it had become popular in the Tang Empire.
In the process of entertainment, it naturally became a new gambling tool. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's restaurant became popular under such circumstances.
Adhering to the convention of the casino, there were several mahjong masters among the people brought by Liu Zhirou. They began to earn money from the Zhang Family and the Wang Family according to Liu Zhirou's instructions.
The rules of the thirteen-card Poor Hu game were simple. There was no need to count the cards and only the slots. Zhang Zhong only used a short hour to lose two thousand strings of coins to the people sent by the Ministry of Works. Experts. Zhang Zhong had finally met an expert. Three people against one.
The Zhang Family didn't care about this little money. Zhang Xiaobao knew that his father was usually busy and didn't have time to spend energy on this kind of thing. As long as he was happy, it was okay to lose some money.
But Liu Zhirou seemed to feel that she won too little. She didn't know how much money she was going to win from the Zhang Family at the mahjong table. She actually raised her base money again and again, and it became a hundred strings of coins. The three of them looked at each other and won more than one thousand strings of coins from Zhang Zhong in two games. Zhang Zhong's forehead was sweating.
The three masters from the Ministry of Works didn't seem to be satisfied. Under Liu Zhirou's signal, Zhang Zhong's opponent suddenly changed ten strings of coins. It seemed that he wanted to continue to win a lot of money. This had become a gambling game.
In the beginning, Zhang Xiaobao was still helping to pour the water. But as he watched, his expression became unhappy. Why did the taste change when they were just playing?
Old Man Pi also noticed Zhang Xiaobao's expression. He moved his mouth close to Liu Zhirou's ear and said, "Enough is enough."
"This is called a scheme. While we're happy, we'll win a few tens of thousands of strings of cash from Zhang Zhong so that we can bargain with the Zhang family." Liu Zhirou didn't know what she was thinking. She actually wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.
Old Man Pi Weiwei shook her head and said, "That's still better than three people bullying one person."
"Don't be afraid. There's no such thing as' big 'or' small 'in the casino. Isn't there a master in the Zhang family? Once we've lost enough, we might be able to force the expert to show up and meet him. Now, even if you ask Zhang Zhong to stop playing, he won't do it. Losers are all like that. "
Liu Zhirou was still proud of her plan.
"Then I hope your Ministry of Works has enough money to lose." Old Man Pi said meaningfully. He didn't think that the Zhang family would let things develop according to Liu Zhirou's plan. How could there be no masters in a mahjong game made by others?
Sure enough, Zhang Xiaobao was angry when he saw the three of them bullying his father. Entertainment was entertainment, everyone had to rely on their own ability. If the three of them colluded to beat him, what was the point? If you want money, just say it. Why use this kind of method?
When his father finished another two thousand strings of cash, Zhang Xiaobao smiled and moved closer to his nervous father and said, "Dad, I'm itching to play. Why don't you let me play with the three uncles for a while?"
Zhang Zhong was also anxious about losing. He knew that the three of them were helping each other. He really wanted to stop playing, but he didn't have a chance to leave. He couldn't get angry, so he could only lose the family's money again and again. Although the family had a lot of money, they couldn't give it to others for free. Seeing that his son wanted to play, he immediately gave up his seat with a smile.
This move surprised Liu Zhirou. She understood the thoughts of people who lost a bet. Usually, the more they lost, the more they gambled. It was really difficult to make them leave the gambling table. She didn't expect Zhang Zhong to give up so easily. He didn't care at all. This could be said to be free and easy. It could also be said to be knowing when to advance and when to retreat.
Zhang Xiaobao admired his father the most. It was like this in the past. He didn't fight with his children, didn't fight with his wife, and put his position in the right place. This was the most rare thing. Taking a step back required more courage and magnanimity than taking a step forward.
When Wang Juan saw Zhang Xiaobao sit in Zhang Zhong's seat, she began to feel sad for the three people from the Ministry of Works who bullied others just now.
She knew very well what kind of person Zhang Xiaobao was. What kind of people were locked in prison? How many times had Zhang Xiaobao been in and out?
Sure enough, Zhang Xiaobao had a smile on his face when he sat down and shuffled the cards. He seemed to be very relaxed. His small hands were rubbing the cards, making it seem like he didn't know how to play cards. When the others finished arranging the thirty-four cards, Zhang Xiaobao slowly arranged his own side. He pushed it forward and waited for the others to play the dice.
His opponent was still in the tenth position. As long as they could win, the three people from the Ministry of Works were even prepared to bully a child.
One person grabbed thirteen cards. Zhang Xiaobao's opponent had just won, so he grabbed an extra card. After the three people from the Ministry of Works set up their cards and were moving back and forth, Zhang Xiaobao's card was not set up at all. He only used his hand to quickly touch the cards from left to right and smiled as he waited for his opponent to play.
This action stunned the people watching the game and the three people at the table. What was the meaning of this? He didn't look at his cards? Then how were they going to play later? He grabbed a card and casually played another card?
"East Wind." Zhang Xiaobao's opponent first played the cards in his hand. Zhang Xiaobao's opponent was about to draw a card when Zhang Xiaobao suddenly said, "Don't move. I won. Peacock Flies Southeast."
As he spoke, Zhang Xiaobao had already taken his opponent's tile while the others were still in shock. With a whoosh, his tile was erected. Before the others even knew what a peacock flying southeast meant, he had already added the East Wind tile into the mix.
When the others saw the face of the cards, they were speechless. He won as expected. Zhang Xiaobao's opponent was stunned for a moment. He seemed to be in disbelief. He had just played a card, and his two thousand strings of cards were gone just like that.
"It's a pity that there are no such rules. Otherwise, I could have won more. Let's continue. Come, three uncles, please let me win."
Zhang Xiaobao took the chips that represented money over and said with an innocent smile.
"Hiss ~!" The three people from the Ministry of Works sucked in a breath of cold air at the same time. Their hearts skipped a beat. An expert. They had met an expert today.
Not only them, but the spectators also realized that if Zhang Xiaobao had set up his cards at the beginning and his opponent played, it would have been fine if he won. However, he didn't set up his cards at all and just touched them. Could it be that he knew that his opponent could play this card?
Doubts were doubts, but the game still had to continue. Liu Zhirou called someone to her side and gave him a few instructions. This person came to the side of the three people from the Ministry of Works and whispered something to each of them. The three people nodded one after another to show that they understood.
When they shuffled the cards this time, the three people deliberately shuffled the cards a few more times. Their six big hands couldn't block the cards and shuffle them so that Zhang Xiaobao's small hands wouldn't move randomly like before and pushed the shuffled cards into their hands. Zhang Xiaobao didn't care. His small hands were still so unhurried, and the smile on his face didn't decrease.
He did do it on purpose just now. He wanted to show off his strength to the three people first. That kind of trick could only be used once. It was unexpected. If he used it again, it would be discovered.
Just like the previous game, Zhang Xiaobao didn't even look at the cards that were caught. He touched them with his small hands, and when he was done, he picked out a card from the pile. When he opened it, he said, "Five pikes."
"Bang." The opponent happily took the five pikes and casually threw out another card.
Zhang Xiaobao went up and grabbed a card. Zhang Xiaobao also grabbed a card. Just like the first card, when he threw it out, he said, "Three pikes."
"Bang." The opponent happily took the card again.
Several times in a row, Zhang Xiaobao's opponent only grabbed a card once. The rest was up to Zhang Xiaobao's opponent and opponent. Seeing that the opponent and opponent's cards were getting fewer and fewer, Zhang Xiaobao once again grabbed a card. He showed the card and said softly, "Word touch, all of the same color. Unfortunately, I still can't win."
This time, he changed to ten gears. The opponent lost two thousand pikes, and the opponent lost one thousand pikes.
Now, it was the three people from the Ministry of Works' turn to sweat.
"What's going on? Does Zhang Xiaobao know what other people will play? "Liu Zhirou thought she saw a ghost and muttered in disbelief.
Old Man Yao was also puzzled. It was strange. Zhang Xiaobao didn't look at the cards at all. Even if he wanted to send someone to stand behind and report to others, it was useless.
While they were still trying to figure it out, the third round started. Zhang Xiaobao was still using the highest ten cards, which was the limit. Once he had 14 cards in his hand, he played a round of cards. In the second round, when he was drawing cards, he played a hidden bar, which struck a chord in the hearts of the three Ministry of Works members.
It was over. Each of them lost two thousand pikes. This was already agreed upon. The hidden bar counted as the pikes. If they followed other rules, they would lose even more. Now, they could only follow the same rules as before and try their best to lose all the cards this time. That way, it wouldn't count as a bar, and a yellow card would be a yellow bar.
But how could this idea be realized? After a few more rounds, after Zhang Xiaobao threw out an open bar, he picked up a card and pushed it. He said with a smile, "I won. Flowers on the bar. Thank you, thank you."
According to the rules, flowers on the bar wouldn't be doubled. But even so, the three parties lost four thousand pikes each. Not only did Zhang Zhong win back what he had lost, but he also made a lot of money at the same time.
Before the four old men could think of a good idea, they played a few more rounds in a row. In the end, the three people from the Ministry of Works lost every round. No matter how they signaled, it was useless.
After Zhang Xiaobao won another round with two open bars, a hidden bar, and a self-draw, he asked with a smile, "Uncles, do you still want to play? Your chips have already been exchanged with money. Why don't you pay the money first, or write a written agreement before playing? Otherwise, what if you don't admit to it? "
"Xiao Bao, we're just playing for fun. What's with money? Taking the chips is actually just a start. Don't really count the money."
Old Man Liu wiped his sweat and said to Zhang Xiaobao.
"Ah? Don't count? Then it seems like someone has already gone to exchange the money my father lost. Those few pikes were all exchanged for chips. "Zhang Xiaobao blinked his big eyes and said with a puzzled expression.
"Exchange it back. We'll exchange it back immediately. Hurry up and exchange it." Old Man Liu blushed. After saying that to Zhang Xiaobao, he glared at the people beside him. Just now, he was afraid that Zhang Zhong wouldn't admit to it after losing, so he immediately exchanged the chips he won for pikes. Now, he was shooting himself in the foot.
However, he really had no other choice. Zhang Xiaobao won at least 30,000 strings of pikes in a short while. His opponent lost the most, more than 40,000 strings of pikes. Where was he going to get this money?
Zhang Xiaobao nodded helplessly and said, "Grandpa Liu is the most reasonable one. Xiaobao has learned a lot again. Forget it, there's no need to put so much thought into it. How about this, let's play poker, a smaller one. This time, you're not allowed to go back on your word. It's not like playing mahjong where you have to spend a lot of time counting the tiles."
Hearing Zhang Xiaobao's words, Old Man Liu wished that there was a hole in the ground for him to crawl into. The expert didn't appear, and only Xiao Bao was able to beat up the three people who worked together. What a mistake, what a mistake.
Now that they saw that Zhang Xiaobao wanted to change to another game, the three people from the Ministry of Works who had already lost shook their heads vigorously like rattles. They didn't realize that they spent a lot of time playing mahjong. Most of the time, after a few rounds, Zhang Xiaobao would win. They didn't know how it happened.
"Xiao Bao, don't bully others. Come over here and eat." Wang Juan saw that Zhang Xiaobao had scared the others, so she could only come over and pull Zhang Xiaobao to another place. Otherwise, with him around, the others wouldn't be able to continue playing.
Zhang Xiaobao also felt that it was meaningless. The opponents were too one-sided. They didn't even know how to remember their cards, and they definitely wouldn't mess up their cards through the back and forth. Otherwise, with three people working together, even if you clearly knew what the next card was, you wouldn't be able to stop them from winning. If you messed up the rhythm by touching a card, they would immediately adjust by eating.
After waiting for Zhang Xiaobao to leave the table, Old Man Pi moved closer to Old Man Liu's ear and said, "How was it? You still haven't used your money to buy the chips. Otherwise, you would have lost all your money. "
"An expert. I didn't expect Xiao Bao to be an expert in this field. With this ability, the Zhang family doesn't need to do business anymore. If we let Xiao Bao out to gamble with others, the money will continue to flow in."
Old Man Liu looked at the cards on the table and said softly. He still didn't understand what was going on. It seemed that the experts under him were not good enough. They still had to train. Otherwise, if they encountered someone like Zhang Xiaobao, wouldn't they be beaten to death?
*****
The bustle of the 30th day gradually faded away. By the fifth day of the new year, Zhang Zhong didn't care about other places. Shuzhou began to resume its normal work. The people also began to work hard for the new year.
It wasn't just Shuzhou. It was the same for Lu Zhou. After the new year, those who were supposed to go out to sea still went out to sea. Those who were supposed to transport goods also began to organize people to transport goods to various places.
The fishermen on Qiongzhou Island formed teams of a few people to go fishing further away.
The trading fleet that was going to Luzon also set sail. This year, they were going to hire the local people to grow enough white fold cloth and bring it back to Tang to sell. This was all because of the cold weather this year. At the same time, it was also the reason why the white fold cloth was widely promoted in various places.
Lighthouses were still being built in further places. Whenever they encountered an island or a bigger reef, they would have to build a lighthouse on it. One was to guide the ships, and the other was to show the ownership of that place.
On the farthest lighthouse, there were still people guarding it during the new year. The patrol ships also patrolled back and forth on the 30th day of the new year. Occasionally, they would stop and send blessings to the lighthouse keeper.
When the 15th day of the new year was approaching, the lighthouse keeper on the farthest lighthouse was waiting for the Lantern Festival to eat. The people who were taking turns to look at the sea with their clairvoyance came to watch. Just when they thought that nothing would happen today, they suddenly saw a few ships in the distance.
The ships in front of them carried the flag of Tang. The ships behind them didn't have any flags. It seemed that the ships of Tang were running, and the ships behind were chasing. Not only were there more ships chasing, but they were also bigger than the ships that were running.
"Quick, send a signal. Someone is bullying our Tang fishing ships. Who's tired of living? Quickly inform the patrol. "
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